Boschung earns sophomore season in F2

Following a promising debut FIA Formula 2 Championship year, Ralph Boschung is delighted to announce his return to the series with race-winning Dutch team MP Motorsport.

An impressive first season in the Formula 1 feeder category, saw the Swiss driver collect three points finishes, before joining up with MP Motorsport at the end-of-season test in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, going sixth fastest on day two.

His strong performances did not go unnoticed, and also earned him a Super Formula test, before the 20-year-old opted to remain in F2 for a second season.

Having joined the GP2 Series in 2013, MP Motorsport enjoyed a strong campaign last year, scoring a victory at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, and a second-place finish at Monza, Italy.

2018 will see the new generation of F2 cars, with the Mecachrome-built 3.4L V6 Turbo engine, halo device and several aero changes bringing them more in line with the latest Formula 1 machinery.

The 12-round calendar sees the FIA Formula 2 Championship kick off in Bahrain (7/8 April), with two additional venues, Le Castellet, France (23/24 June), and Sochi, Russia (29/30 September), joining the series.

“I am extremely excited to be back in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with MP Motorsport,” Boschung said. “The team showed great speed last year and I’m looking forward to continuing my single-seater career with them.

“It’s going to be very interesting with the new Dallara F2 2018 cars, which everyone will need to learn quickly during pre-season tests. It will be a challenge, especially when it comes to understanding the turbo engine, but we will work hard to get into a good position before the season-opener in Bahrain.

“This winter, I had a lot of important decisions to make about my future in racing. In the end it came down to whether I wanted to stay in Europe or go to Japan for the Super Formula. I’m confident in my choice and can’t wait to get going.

“I would like to extend my warmest thanks to my partners, leading Swiss meat business Malbuner, major coffee brand Lattesso, as well as Vintage & Classic Aircraft, CP Construction, Avanthay Real Estate and B63. I am especially thankful to MP Motorsport for giving me this fantastic opportunity and am also grateful to the ‘Club 50’ members for their continued support.”

Sander Dorsman, MP Motorsport’s team manager, added: “It’s great that Ralph will be part of our Formula 2 team for 2018. He showed good speed in his first season and our test at Yas Marina together went very well. We are convinced that we can build on that form to get more solid results and produce a consistent points-scoring run in the season ahead.”

Boschung will drive this year’s car for the first time during the opening pre-season test at Circuit Paul Ricard this week (6-8 March).